Naman Shrestha
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: They All Saw His Evil’ delves deep into the mysterious vanishing of a 19-year-old single mother named Rebecca “Becky” Sutton from her Missouri home in March 2003. Several months later, her loved ones’ worst nightmare came true when her remains were discovered. The case stayed unsolved for nearly a decade when an unlikely break led them straight to the perpetrator. The documentary provides a detailed account of the entire case and the ensuing years-long investigation, through insightful and emotional interviews with Becky’s family and officials involved in the investigation.
Becky Sutton Was Found Dead Nearly a Year After Her Disappearance
Born around 1984 to Susan, Rebecca “Becky” Rayann Sutton embraced motherhood in her late teens, giving birth to her son around 2001. By 2003, she had been living with her then-2-year-old son in an apartment at 140 2nd Street in Hollister, Missouri. When Becky’s mother couldn’t get in touch with her, she reportedly visited her residence only to find her missing and her toddler son home alone. Concerned about the well-being of her daughter, Susan filed a missing persons report with the Hollister Police Department on March 21, 2003.
As the police officers arrived at the residence around 3 pm, they found no signs of forced entry, and Becky’s belongings were still in her home. Her car was also parked outside, with no unusual activity seen or reported by nearby residents. The search for the missing 19-year-old mother of one came to an end on February 26, 2004, when a couple of hikers discovered her remains in the Mark Twain National Forest near Bradleyville, Missouri. The autopsy revealed that the manner of her death was homicide and the cause of death was strangulation.
Becky Sutton’s Killer Confessed to His Crimes About a Decade Later
As part of the investigation, the detectives spoke with Rebecca Sutton’s family and friends to better understand the circumstances surrounding her mysterious disappearance. It turned out that she was last heard from by a friend in a telephone conversation on March 20, 2003, around 10:30 pm. During the investigation, which was led by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Hollister Police Department, and the Taney County Sheriff’s Department, one of Becky’s friends claimed that Becky had told her about a man named Philip who made sexual advances towards her despite her refusal, only leaving her alone when she threatened to report him to the authorities.
While the police interviewed Becky’s ex-boyfriend, he led them to the suspicious man — Philip L. Dodd. During Philip’s interview on March 23, 2003, he reportedly made inconsistent statements to the detectives. Further suspicions arose when his workplace confirmed that he had arrived late on March 21, 2003, contradicting his statements about the same. Due to a lack of evidence against him, the investigators couldn’t charge him with any crime. Nearly 10 years later, the cold case was finally cracked open when the detectives interviewed Philip in March 2013. Initially, he claimed that Becky died of an overdose. But later, he admitted that on the fateful night, he went to her home to take drugs and have sex with her.
After she denied his advances, he reportedly strangled her to death and disposed of her remains under a rock outcropping and covered them with rocks. To get rid of any possible evidence from his car, he got it washed at a Branson car wash and changed the floor mats. As per reports, he also confessed to taking bedsheets, a pillow, pillow top, and other items from Becky’s home that could contain his DNA or hair, and burning them at a secluded construction area. Consequently, Philip was charged with first-degree murder on March 14, 2013, for the strangulation death of Rebecca Sutton. At the time, he was already serving time for an unrelated crime at the Missouri Department of Corrections in Jefferson City.
Philip Dodd is Serving His Sentence at a Missouri Prison Today
A few months later, in late October 2013, Philip Dodd pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing 19-year-old Rebecca “Becky” Sutton. On January 9, 2014, during his sentencing hearing, the prosecutor read statements on behalf of Becky’s mother and son. Susan’s letter read, “You have taken away all the holidays, birthdays, family gatherings and maybe a wedding.” Meanwhile, an excerpt from the son’s letter said, “Everyone tells me how wonderful my mom was, and it makes me sad I don’t remember her.”
Ultimately, Philip was sentenced to life in prison for his gruesome crime, which he was ordered to serve after completing his 14-year term for committing a robbery at a Joplin Metro Credit Union. He also took the stand on his behalf and stated, “I grieve constantly because of my actions. I don’t want to blame it on the drugs, but the anger and the bitterness comes out in ways you don’t expect. I never expected to take someone’s life.” After receiving the maximum sentence, he admitted, “They’re right, I deserve the maximum. I deserve this. The only thing I can do now is seek mercy from God.” Currently, the 54-year-old killer is incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Missouri.
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